


That's the thing with life; no one makes it out alive!

by Imnotinsane13



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: Demonic Possession, F/M, Slow Burn, The Maitlands are the voice of reason, crossover of both musical and movie, like so slow that even the main characters get confused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:40:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22540390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imnotinsane13/pseuds/Imnotinsane13
Summary: Circe Mortiz has had a massive shift in her life. So much so that her dead dad's best friend decided to help her out by sort of permanently house sitting for them. It's a creaky, old house but better than living out of her car as she had been. How crazy will this new place be for her? Let's find out! Rated for later chapters.
Relationships: Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice)/Reader, Beetlejuice/Originial Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 52





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Jumping on the Beetlejuice-Mania!

To set the stage a bit, there’s a massive house in Northern Connecticut, it’s mid Spring and a small, ‘beater’ of a car clutters up the driveway of a classic house on top of a hill…

A young woman exits the car, lugging a large backpack and a box labeled ‘Circe’s junk’ in big, black letters. Her phone rings and she answers it with a smile. “Yes, Auntie Dee, I just arrived.” The young woman reassures the person on the other end of the phone while tucking a strand of her long, black hair behind her ears, “Wow, you and Uncle Chuck really, uh… Yep! ‘Enriched’ is definitely the word I’m looking for!”

She laughs a bit awkwardly before continuing her phone call, “Yes, Auntie Dee, I’ll make sure to cover all utilities and once again, thank you so much for letting me crash here… Yeah, that whole business with mom and James was just… insane.” She listens and smiles a bit, “Yeah, thanks again for everything, I really appreciate all of it… Yeah, I love you too. And yes, if or when Lyds comes by, I’ll make sure to send her your love. Okay, bye!” 

“Oh! Just one more thing, my sweet Circe!” Delia calls out over the phone as Circe unlocks the front door, “Yes, Auntie Dee?”

“You might feel like the house has a… presence or two in it. All I’m going to say is just have an open mind and be polite, they’re very nice beings!” 

There’s a pause from Circe, who shrugs and replies, “Alright, Love you, Aunt Delia! I’m gonna get settled in, alright?” She loudly smooches her cell before hanging up and sets her bag on a very dusty sofa, coughing a bit. “Good thing it’s spring…” Circe murmurs as she unlocks and attempts to open the windows in the living-room.  
“Of course, painted shut…” She grumbles as she heads to the kitchen to grab a knife to slit at the paint…

When she returns, though, the windows are open and the curtains gently flutter in the light breeze. “Didn’t I…?” Circe shakes her head as she ties her wavy hair back into a bun, her dark eyes scanning the house. 

“Aunt Dee must have gotten in my head with all that presence talk…” Circe shakes her head and she rolls up her sleeves to get to work on cleaning up the house, all while blaring Harry Belaphonte over her phone. 

Little did she know, there were two pairs of ghostly eyes watching her work and whisper amongst themselves.

"Is that her, Adam? She looks so young."  
"Looks like it, Barbara. Delia wasn't lying when she said that we'd like her."

Circe Mortiz; a 27 year old woman, with black, wavy hair, warm, copper skin and dark eyes was going to start off fresh in this small town. Her ‘aunt’ Delia (Her deceased father’s best friend) and her husband were off to travel the world via Cruise Ship and not wanting to leave their home empty as their daughter, Lydia, went off to be a famous photographer, they offered it for Circe to live in after her world was rocked recently… But that’s a story for another chapter.


	2. First Meeting

“Three weeks in and the massive place finally feels like home!” Circe smiles as she FaceTimes her aunt and husband while they make a stop in the Bahamas. 

“Oh, I’m so happy you like it, darling!” Delia smiles as she holds the phone close to her face as the connection was spotty.

“One question, though, what the hell is this?” Circe asks as she points her phone’s camera at a painted sculpture of what can only be described as a grotesque face.

Gasps come from the phone and she whips her phone back to her face, “What’s up? Everything alright, Aunt Dee?” Delia just has a nervous look on her face but she holds a smile so to not scare Circe, “It’s just an old sculpture from when Lydia was 14. If it creeps you out too much, feel free to dump it in a closet.”

“Or drop it from the second floor!” Charles calls out in the background, causing Delia to chastise him, “Charles! I put blood, sweat and so many tears into that!”

“I can tell, Aunt dee, it’s… Really detailed.” Circe shrugs as she puts the head on a shelf in a closet, pointing the face to the back of the closet.

She then picks up a different book and reads off the title while asking, “Also, what’s the- ‘The Living and the Dead: Handbook for the Recently Deceased Companion?’” Charles takes the phone, “Tha-at’s just an old joke book, you can just put that in my desk, it reads like stereo instructions.”

“I got ya, uncle Chuck,” Circe laughs a bit as she tosses the book into a drawer, “I like your place, though. I finally got rid of a ton of dust bunnies and as you said, I left the attic and the little display of the town alone.”

“Good to hear, have you heard from your mother?” Charles asks and Circe shakes her head, “Nope! And I’m glad for it. I swear, I’ll owe you and Aunt Dee until I die.”

“You helping out at our place and keeping the riff-raff and rodents out is more than enough. Have any of the neighbors stopped by?” He asks, shielding his eyes from the sun.

“One lady dropped off an apple pie, there was a girl scout and… a man claiming to be part of the census bureau but he literally didn’t have any papers or anything so I didn’t answer the door.” Circe shrugs as she heads upstairs, “Anywho, it’s good to hear from you guys! Call back when you get to another port!” 

Her aunt and uncle say goodbye and hang up and Circe tosses her phone onto her bed, stretching a bit. After putting a load of laundry to wash, she decides to run a bath, relaxing for a moment. With soft music playing in the background and a mud mask on her face, she finally relaxes in her bubble bath…

Until she hears the dryer start all of a sudden. Circe gets out of the tub and checks on it, worried that there was a weird short in the wiring that caused the dryer to start…

She finds her clothes that she had just put to wash now tumbling in the dryer.

“... What the fuck?” Circe murmurs as she dries off and changes into sweats and a t-shirt. She heads downstairs, wanting to make herself a snack and something to drink, only to find a plate of sliced up fruit and a glass of juice next to it.

“What the fuck!?”

It was another couple additions to the ongoing series of strange stuff that had been happening lately. It all started with the windows opening when she first arrived. She chalked it up to it being an old house and maybe she had loosened the window up somehow? Another couple of instances were that she had scrubbed and cleaned all day and went to bed with the intention to dust out the house and organize the pantries in the morning. The next day, she woke up and all of the chores were done. Deny, deny, deny. This was one weird action too far for her.

“Okay! Okay, Delia said that there a couple of presences in this house, ya’ll had better be ghosts or else I’m going to scream so loud that Mr. and Mrs. Fredrickson next door will call the cops!” Circe demands. A man and a woman appear out of nowhere, waving their arms. “We’re ghosts! We’re ghosts!” 

This did absolutely nothing for Circe that she did, in fact, start screaming loudly and the neighbors certainly did call the police.

One embarrassing half hour later, Circe sat on the sofa and the two ghosts were standing in the living room.  
“So… You both died here?” Circe asks, her cup of juice clasped between both hands as she focuses on a random spot on the floor. 

“Not technically. We died on that red bridge that you drove on to get here…” The woman, Barbara, explains. “Technically, off of it…” The man, Adam, clarifies.

“And you both… Adam and Barbara, have been here since? And you’ve been watching me?” Circe looks up at both of them.

The two hold their hands up, both exclaiming, “Not in a creepy way! We swear!”

After another moment of stunned silence, she can’t help but start laughing, “Of course… Of course, this all would happen! Now all of what Delia said makes sense… But be all of this as it may, I’m not sensing that either one of you is… Well, evil.”

The stress the two held in their shoulders seems to be released as they laugh with her. “No, not at all!” Adam smiles as Barbara nods, “Delia told us all about you and that we’d like you. We just wanted to take things slow on showing who we are since she said you’d be staying for a while.”

“Is that… All she told you?” Circe asks, looking up at them.

“Yeah, just a basic rundown on who you are and what you like.” Barbara shrugs, “Does it help that we like you? And most of your taste in music?”

The living woman smiles as she sits back, “Well, let me appropriately thank you both for all the help you’ve been giving me. Seriously, you both are the best roommates I’ve ever had.”

“It gives us something to do.” Adam shrugs, “Plus, it’s not like you’re a bad person, either.”

Looking at the clock, Circe sighs, “Well, I’d better head to bed. I want to look for a job while in town and Delia said her art studio would have a spot open for me.”

“Alright, just ask if you need anything and we’ll help out any way we can.” Adam grins.

She nods and heads upstairs to her room, shutting the door behind her. When she turns back around, she sees Delia’s grotesque head sculpture sitting on her bed and she yells out a bit, “Fuck!”

Rolling her eyes, she picks it up and tilts it to look at it’s base, “... What does this say? ‘Never say his name… Beetle… Juice?’ Whelp, here’s hoping I didn’t reawaken some ancient demon or something like that.”

Once again, she tosses the head into her own closet and heads to bed, assuming that the Maitlands were just poking some fun at her...

Of course, there would be no story to continue if that were the case.


	3. The plot thickens...

“She seems nice, doesn’t she?” Barbara smiles as the wedded ghosts finally work on some projects they had been procrastination on just to make sure that Circe was comfortable while living in the house.

“I feel like she’s hiding something, though I’m not going to push.” Adam replies, dusting off some of the town, “Think if we ask her to, she can pick some stuff up in town?” 

“Of course, she’s a sweetheart, ask her tomorrow before she heads into town.” Barbara replies, working on one of her paintings.

“Uh, yeah, she’s got a nice rack and a sweet ass, too.” Adam’s voice comments. 

“Adam!” she whips around and he raises his hands, “Barb, I swear on everything, I did NOT say that.”

“Yeah, good little boy Adam wouldn’t do anything like that.” A familiar voice comes from the living room. Barbara’s eyes widen and she gasps, “It can’t be.”The two ghouls dart into the room and sitting on the sofa, smoking a cigarette is their old nemesis and annoyance, the Ghost with the Most, Beetlejuice.

“You son of a-!” Barbara makes a start for him and he holds his hands up, “Calm down, Babs! It’s lovely to see you, too! It’s been what, 31 years?”

“What are you doing here?!” Adam growls as he joins his wife in rounding on the ghoul. He smirks, “I was summoned, that sweet little thing said my name. Just once but it was enough to summon me from the deepest corner you and that brat, Lydia tossed me in.”

“You did that to yourself! Trying to kill everyone and then marrying a minor!”

“It was a GREEN CARD situation and you both know that!” He snaps back, his hair flashing a bright red before turning back to it’s green hue, “Look, can’t we let bygones be bygones? It’s been three decades and I’m a change-ed demon!”

The Maitlands just glare at him and he sighs, “Okay, look… I still want the green card thing. The chick’s legal and it seems like she’s alone and could use some… Beetle juice~?” Barbara gags a bit and Adam rolls his eyes, “Seriously?”

“I have changed, though!” Beetlejuice points out, “Look, I came to you both directly and I didn’t approach her myself outside of her guardian ghosts. If I really wanted to, I would have taken that sweet little thing already.”

Barbara frowns, “There’s no way she could like you.” The bio-exorcist looks offended, “Now, Babs, I can be sweet when I want to be! Care to place a wager on it?” Adam steps in, “Absolutely not! We are not wagering on this girl we just met and we are not welcoming you back into our lives!”

“Come on! How long is the little breather staying? Bet I could get her to fall for me in all that time.” Beetlejuice smirks, goading the Maitlands.

“We don’t know, so no.” Barbara frowns, “Now leave, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Bee-”

“Up, pup pup pup!!” He holds his hands up, “A year. If she leaves beforehand, the time passes, she dies or finds someone else, I lose and I’ll go back to that dark pit where I came out of and never darken your doorstep again.”

“And if you win?” Adam asks, looking up at him. “I get free! And I’ll still never darken her doorstep again.” The ghoul replies.

“That’s not how these things work. You can’t just get into a marriage and dump them!” Barbara sighs, “This is insane, you could never get her in any shape, way or form… Know what? Fine. On the condition of no possessions, other ghostly stuff and if Adam or I see or sense any lowbrow shenanigans, you’re out! O-U-T. And we will definitely tell her about the deal, not you.”

“Fine! We start introductions in the morning. Hope I still got that ol’ Romeo charm.” He clasps Adam’s hand and winks, “I can’t wait.”

Adam tugs his hand away from the ghoul’s and wipes it on his jeans, “Ugh… and we will introduce you, too.”

“You both better talk me up good!”

“Not in a million years!”

The next morning, Circe gets up and ready to leave for the day. As she heads into the kitchen, she yells out again as the head Sculpture is now sitting on the kitchen counter, “Barb, this better not be a joke!!”

“Well, glad to know you don’t like my look.” She hears a gruff voice come from behind her. Leaning against the doorway is an extremely pale man wearing a striped suit with green hair, he smirks as he eyes her up and down.

Circe shudders a bit as the Maitlands come down the stairs, “Circe! This is-”

“Beej, right?” the breather surprises all three ghosts and she smirks, “Yeah, I know aaaalll about you. Sent a pic of that creepy sculpture to Lydia and she told me all about you, BJ. Also told me to not say the name three times or else.”

Adam and Barbara sigh in relief, “Glad we don’t need to do too many introductions, then… Beetlejuice, this is Circe. Circe, this is Beetlejuice.”

The demon smiles as he bends over, pressing a kiss against the back of her hand, “Enchante, madame.”

Tugging her hand back, Circe sighs, “Also heard all about your ‘plans’ last night. I was still awake.”

The Maitland’s eyes widen a bit and they look abashed, “Sorry, Circe. We should have gone to you fi-”

“I’m in. And I’m on your side.” She laughs, looking at the couple, “With everything I know about him, I highly doubt anything is going to work on me, but sure, you can try.”

Beetlejuice looks stunned as she makes herself a bagel for breakfast, “... Why?”

“I’m dead inside, Beej. If I told you the reason why I came here, I think it could curl even your hair. Lydia said to trust in the Maitlands and I will.” He smirks and winks at her, “I can’t wait to win you over, baby!”

“Please do hold your breath until that happens.” Circe rolls her eyes as she spreads cream cheese on her bagel. Barbara laughs a bit, “Good luck, Beetlejuice. You’re gonna need it.”

Circe gets into a conversation with Adam about the things that they would need for the house, even though she could feel eyes almost literally burning into the back of her head...


	4. Creepy Old Guy

“Now I wanna hold you, hold you close! I don't wanna ever have to let you go...” Circe sings out while in the shower, “Now I wanna hold you, hold you tight! I don't wanna go back to the lonely life~!” Beetlejuice pops his head in the shower, “Nice pipes, babes!”

The breather shrieks and smacks him with her conditioner bottle, “GET OUT!!”

Beetlejuice walks downstairs, a loofah stuffed into his mouth and both Maitlands just glare at him. He coughs out the loofah and groans, “So the sexy shower time didn’t work.”

“We’re not surprised.” Barbara replies, looking down at the newspaper.  
“She’s got such a nice ass, though…” He sighs, wistfully. Adam just glares at him until he walks away, shouting, “No allies in this house!”

A few weeks into the little ‘arrangement’ and genuinely, the only thing that had changed was that Circe didn’t feel so alone since meeting Adam and Barbara.

Unfortunately, that kindness or warmth didn’t extend to their resident bio exorcist. Beetlejuice had thrown everything he had at her, stopping short of setting up a makeshift wedding in the living room as Barbara highly suggested for him to abandon that endeavor.

Over the course of the passing days, he seemed to get more and more under her skin, albeit bit by bit, but her patience was wearing extremely thin and he knew it.

“Why doesn’t your phone go off like other breathers? I’ve seen those things light up like the electric chair with normal people.” Beetlejuice asks, floating on his stomach as he stares up at Circe.

“I’m not a ‘normal’ breather. Trying to not sound too much like 2013 Hot Topic, but my life before coming here was pretty chaotic.” She answers, walking away from him but he simply follows her, floating on, “What’s with the Greek tragedy name?” 

“Dad’s idea. He was always obsessed with Greek mythology and he always found Circe’s plight so sad. ‘I named you that so that at least once Circe could end up happily ever after.’ He had told me.” The woman answers, “Are you done needling me?”

“Never, babe! I get bored when you’re at work, honey bunch!” He grins.

She had gotten a part time job in Delia’s store and really only had to go in three days out of the week, so things worked out well. 

In the meanwhile, Circe taught Adam and Barbara how to properly use the internet and some of the streaming devices she had installed in the house.

Naturally, Delia and Charles had the high end, best of the best electronics but they were barely used. “So what’s this thing called?” Adam asks, using a remote to flip through suggestions on the tv.

“YouTube. Seriously, don’t delve too far down the rabbit hole. You’ll end up in the creepy part of it with the conspiracy theories and hidden porn.” Circe warns as Adam looks up at her, “Wh-What?!”

“I’m kidding! Please, I use the regular porn sites for that.” She smirks, causing the poor man to stammer and who knew ghosts could blush?

A striped arm snakes around her waist, “Ooh, kinky, babe!” The ghoul who it belonged to ends up smacked with a rather heavy book against his forehead, “Don’t touch me, ghoul-fool.”

Beetlejuice shakes his head a bit as he releases her, “Don’t worry, I love it rough~!”

“Ugh, seriously, get a life.”

“I’m tryin’!” He frowns as he floats onto his back, drifting next to her, “You could give me a hand and just… Ya know.”

Circe snorts as she sprays water over some plants, “I refuse to marry you for a ‘green card’ situation. Or at all, really, I don’t want marriage.”

He rolls his own eyes, “Who hurt you that bad, babe? Some ex boyfriend that fucked your best friend and they were doing it on the DL?”

She practically slams the bottle down and turns to look at him with a cold glare, “You really want to know?”

He smirks, not sensing the sudden draft emanating off of her, “Oh yes, let’s get under your skin, babe.”

Snapping his fingers, a large, monochrome armchair pops up under Circe and he sports glasses and a writing pad appears in his hands right there in the living room. “Now,” he states in an obnoxiously fake german accent, “vhy don’t ve take a peek in your soobconcious? Vhy do you wrheject love? Are you afraid to get close to any living people? You make your acquaintances vith the dead because it’s easier for you and you don’t vant to make time for them and their problems?”

The Maitlands stare cautiously from a distance, ready to pop in if needed. Circe’s temper was already rising but she wasn’t about to let him know he’s digging under her skin, “Well after your dad dies, leaves you a massive estate and none for your mother because turns out, she had been cheating on him for most of their marriage and he had a toooon of proof.”

Barbara and Adam were definitely listening in at this point; even Beetlejuice stopped trying to interrupt her.

“So then, all of a sudden, you get sick! You get super sick, so much so that the doctor can't do anything to help, and your boyfriend who you were all set to get engaged to is so kind and loving and really tries to help with homemade soups and meals…” Her voice starts to quiver at this point, “And then one morning when he and your mother, who was also taking care of you, thought you were asleep, you hear them talking and he says…” 

She trails off, sniffing a bit, “H-He says, ‘don’t worry. She’ll be dead soon then all that cash will be ours.’ The two people who you trusted with everything had both been conspiring to kill you, all for money. Money that if they asked, you would have given it wholeheartedly.” The poor woman starts weeping, “At least when I confronted them, they both dropped all pretenses and he confessed that he had been with my mom for the almost entirety of our relationship as well.”

Circe stands up, “... So yeah, fuck the living. Every last one of them. The only ones that I’m fine with are the Deetz’ because they’re the only living people in this goddamn world who helped without expecting anything in return.”

She turns on her heel and storms upstairs, leaving the three deceased people gaping at her.

“Whoa. What a crybaby!” Beetlejuice cackles as he slaps his thigh, “Who knew that a couple of days of needling would finally cause her to snap?!”

“Adam, sweetie, hand me the frying pan.” Barbara asks, ever so sweetly. “Sure thing, honeybunch!” He replies, handing her the item.

Circe could hear several hollow BANGS and SLAMS and cries of pain coming from downstairs.

Not wanting to hear some half-baked apology, she slips out of her window, climbing down the artistic paneling with ease.

“I need to get drunk.” She growls, summoning an uber with her phone with the intent to go to the nearest bar.

Hours later, she’s slumped over the bartop, her forehead pressed against the wood.

A hand grips at her arm, “Come on, babe. Let’s go…” In her drunken haze, Circe smacks the hand away, “Go away, Beej, I’m not in the mood.”

“Who’s Beej?”

Circe blinks and looks up, her eyes widening, “... J-James?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the Kudos and subscriptions! I'll try to roll out the next chapter at the very latest by Saturday


	5. It's Showtime!

“Let GO of me, James!!” Circe snaps as she’s dragged out of the bar, wrenching her arm out of his grasp, staggering back due to how drunk she was.

He holds his hands up and steps a little closer, “Circe, please. You’re overreacting. I just want to talk.” She growls as she slaps his hand away and he takes the chance to grip her wrist and bend it back.  
Circe winces and whines a bit as she tries to move, “L-Let go, y-you’re hurting me…”  
He just grips her wrist tighter, glaring down at her, “you’re going to come home right now.”  
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” She growls, swinging a leg out under him before starting back into the bar. James quickly grips her hair by the ponytail and yanks her back, “You little-’

After a large struggle of James forcing Circe into his car, he drives her back to the Deetz’ home. Twisting her arm behind her back as he leads her into the house, he snarls. “You just had to make things difficult. Your mom’s not gonna like the shiner you marked on my pretty face.”

“Jeeze, you’re really stuck up her asshole, aren’t you?” She spits before whining as he twists her arm more, “Stop, you’re gonna break my arm!”

“Don’t need both arms to sign away your money, right?” James smirks as he forces her into the living room, pushing her onto the sofa before pulling out his phone. He steps into the hallway to make a call and the Maitlands appear in the living room. 

“Circe, what’s going on, who is that?” Barbara asks before gasping as she sees the bruises on the other woman’s face. “James, the fuckhead ex…” She whispers so mentioned fuckhead doesn’t overhear, “He can’t see you guys… Y-You can’t stop him… I’m g-gonna have to leave…”

“Babes, I can help.” Beetlejuice replies as he sits next to her on the sofa, “All ya gotta do is get on your knees and-”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll give you two black eyes.” Circe replies, flatly, “What do you suggest because I think he did a number to my arm?”

“Hmm… Permission to possess?” He asks, “I know you all said no ghost powers, but I think this can be an exception for that rule. Plus, I really don’t like this fucker.”

“Permission granted so long as you don’t contort my body even more than it already has been. No ‘Exorcist’ style head spinning and vomit.” Circe sighs and Beetlejuice pouts mockingly, “No fun, that’s my favorite movie! Fiiine, I agree…”

He spits in his hand and holds it out for her to shake. She groans and just slaps her hand onto his…

The lights black out as soon as their skin touches and James storms back into the living room, his phone flashlight on, “Circe?! Where are you, you little bitch?”

Lightning flashes and he’d see Circe floating up in the air, her face illuminated with a ghostly green glow and a cruel smile.

“It’s showtime~!” she sings out in a raspy voice as she snaps her fingers.  
The Maitlands cover their eyes as a flash goes off and James is spread out on a massive wheel. 

A disembodied crowd roars and cheers, Circe (dressed as a ringmaster) appears in front of it, a spotlight pointed at her, “Ladies and ghouls!! We here at the Mortiz Family Fuck Up Circus would like to introduce you to our newest attraction! Wheel!! of!! Torture!!”

The crowd claps and cheers as the light moves to James on the wheel. He struggles unsuccessfully against his restraints, “C-Circe? Let me go! P-Please?”

“Sorry, Jimmy, little miss Circe isn’t running the show. But I can feel all her anger… All her rage. Oooh, she wants you to suffer~!” She giggles as she spins the wheel, “Now ladies and gents, how will we torture Mr. Pencil-dick~? Boiled in oil? Dipped in honey and fed to bears? Forced to sit through Amway meetings? Let’s see!”

“C-Circe! Th-This isn’t you!” James yells out, “Y-You don’t want to hurt me!!”

“Yes I do!!” She shouts, her eyes glowing red, “I want you to hurt like you made me hurt!! I want you to suffer, you piece of shit!!” 

Stopping the wheel, she grips his collar tightly, holding him up in the air, “I loved you! I trusted you and you used me, you piece of shit!”

James’ eyes widen in fear as he looks into her rage filled face… And all at once, her rage subsides and she releases him, letting him fall to the floor and the illusions fade away.

“Leave this place and never come back, James. If you do, I’ll finish what I started this time.” She snarls. He doesn’t take another look back as he darts out of the door.

Beetlejuice releases his possession and Circe collapses onto the floor, worn out from the evening’s affair. He crouches down and picks her up, Barbara stepping closer, “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s just drunk and worn out… Definitely gonna feel that arm in the morning… Or, at least, she would have.” He replies, wiping his eyes with a hand.

“A-Are you crying?” Adam asks. “I just felt her emotions… And here I thought I was lonely.” Beetlejuice sighs, “I’ll put her to bed.”

The Maitlands nod and he carries her upstairs, laying her in her bed, “I didn’t care for that shit… But if anyone’s gonna make you upset, it’s gonna be me.”

He sits next to her bed after tucking her in. After a moment, he moves to get up, but she places a hand on his arm, “Mmn, don’t go…”

His eyes widen and he lays next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist, “... I’m sorry. Okay?”


	6. Truth Hurts

Groaning a bit as she wakes up and sits up in her bed… Circe’s lost for a moment on where she is and why her head is pounding but then the memories of what had happened last night come rushing back… Along with her nausea from her hangover.

Bile rises in her throat and she sits up to run into the bathroom, but she could tell she wasn’t going to make it. Someone grips the back of her neck and pushes her head to the side of the bed, into a garbage can where she vomits into.

Groaning as she rubs her temples, she lifts her head to see Beetlejuice holding out a glass of water and aspirin, “From Barbara. How’s your arm?”

“Sore, but otherwise okay,” Circe replies before drinking the water and swallowing the pills, “... He hasn’t come back, has he?”

“Nah, I think you almost killing him last night scared him off into the night.” He replies, crossing his arms, “... I already apologized for the shit I said last night, so…”

“While I was unconscious? Woow, you really know how an apology works, BJ.” She rolls her eyes as she moves to stand up.

“Fuckin’ fine, I’m SORRY FOR BEING!! A!!! DICK!!!” He shouts, further aggravating her hangover. 

She claps her hands over her ears before yelling back at him, “OH MY GOD, WILL YOU SHUT UP!?”

The two just glare at each other in silence for a moment before there’s a knock at the door. “Come in,” Circe calls out and the Maitlands enter the room, “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Hungover and sore. Seriously, what did we do to him last night?” Circe winces as she finally feels the full soreness of her arm.

“Ahem, it was all me, babe!” Beetlejuice frowns, “the only reason why the breather got to leave with all of his limbs intact was because you wussed out and didn’t want to kill him.”

Circe rolls her eyes, “He’s not worth the murder charge. Because that’s what would have happened. We were last seen arguing outside of the bar and he forced his way into my home. I could have done it… But I really didn’t want to since my dear mother would definitely hound and sue me for all I’m worth for her boy toy.”

“Yeah, and you still hold some love for him.” Beetlejuice smirks, not learning his lesson from needling her before.

“Whatever I had evaporated when we spared his life.” She replies, sighing a bit.

“Wouldn’t have been my first choice of ways to be inside of you, but I certainly enjoyed it.” He winks.

Circe stares at him before looking at the Maitlands, “Is he always like this?”

“Yes,” They respond at the same time.

She clasps her hands together and looks up at Beetlejuice, “Look. BJ, Beej, Beetlejuice… You /really/ want there to be something where there’s not. And you don’t even want that. Not really. You just want a way back to being alive, which I really have no idea why you’d want that. Being alive sucks.”

“Yeah, getting a peek into your head really opened my eyes up on that.” He nods, “But it’s not something I’m giving up, babe.”

Circe shakes her head and releases an exasperated sigh, “Guess you wouldn’t be you if you gave up that easily. Anyway, what I’m saying is that you really need to try a different approach. I know I’m not one to talk, but haven’t you ever been in a relationship? At all?”

Beetlejuice pauses for a moment before snapping his fingers and the two of them are suddenly on the roof of the home. 

“Didn’t want the two NewlyDeads to listen in,” He explains, leaning against the doorway to the roof, lighting up a cigarette. Circe, not too fond of heights, sits next to him, hugging her knees a bit as he takes a couple of drags from his smoke. 

“Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl… She had feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there,” He states and Circe looks up at him, raising an eyebrow, “I’m mostly serious. She was a dead showgirl and her name was Lola. We were together for what felt like forever, really thought I was gonna take it to the next level with her… But then some lower level scumbag demon named Adonis… Kind of stole her away.”

Circe frowns as she looks down a bit, taking in the information. He was actually being vulnerable to her, it was so off putting… But sweet in a weird way.

After another couple of moments of silence, she replies, “You’re lonely, too. You may hide it all you want but while you were in my head, I was in yours. BJ, you’re lonely and you really just want to be accepted by someone. You think that suddenly gaining life will force everyone to see you and… that’s not how it works. I’m living and I may as well be a ghost.”

Beetlejuice flicks his ashes and takes another drag, “You could be right, but I wouldn’t know until I try.”

“Tell you what, as a thank you for helping me last night in getting rid of Pencil Dick James, I’ll try to be a little bit less abrasive if you try to be a little less… Stupid?” She offers, weakly.

“Thanks.” He grumbles, flicking the butt of his cigarette off of the roof, “... Fine, it’s a deal.”

“Now can you please get me off of this roof? I don’t want to die just yet.” She asks and he snaps his fingers again... 

Though when the two of them appear back in her room, she’s held in his arms like a bride and he waggles his eyebrows, “Last time, I promise.”

“I hate you.” She rolls her eyes, moving to get out of his arms. He knew she didn’t mean it.


	7. Finally

The next few months pass by with little to no issues. Other than Beetlejuice bringing in a sandworm into the living room and causing mass panic and destruction…

But then again, that was just another Tuesday with the Maitlands, Moritz and Beetlejuice.

Surprising both Maitlands, Circe and Beetlejuice had somewhat gotten closer over the passing months. He had stopped surprising her in the shower and she had been less abrasive with him when he made simple mistakes.

Barbara had noticed the subtle changes at first, naturally, and once she pointed them out to Adam, he did as well. Every so often, she’d fall asleep, leaning against him after watching hour after hour of Forensic Files or something to that nature and he’d either carry her back up to her room and tuck her into bed or just pull a blanket over the both of them so that they could sleep soundly.

She, in turn, had Beetlejuice do some cool effects for her TikTok and while no one could figure out how she could make herself float or other items dance around her, he enjoyed their small following. Along with that, Circe took up baking in the summertime and all of them enjoyed the fruit tarts and pies she quickly learned to make. 

(The first few were extremely terrible, to the point where Beetlejuice had opened up a window and flung the charcoal tart like a frisbee into the unknown.) 

Nearing the end of September, the Maitlands seemed more excited than normal. When Circe asked why, Barbara answers, “October is sort of a special month for ghosts. It’s when the Netherworld and the Living World are both sort of overlapping. Means we can leave the house and roam around town for a bit!”

“Also means that other ghosts can jump through the Netherworld Doors…” Beetlejuice grumbles, patting a baseball bat against his palm, “Unsavory characters, all of them.”

“What’s with the bat?” Circe asks and he pats it again, “The strong must protect the sweet.” She rolls her eyes as she jabs his forehead, “Idiot.”

Though she said it, everyone knew that she didn’t mean it, they used insults as their ‘pet names’ and it seemed to work for them.

“Hey! Just promise me you won’t use a Ouija board or anything stupid like that.” He actually sounded worried. Circe groans, “Fiiiine, dad, I won’t use a Ouija board or open up portals that don’t need to be opened.”

He tilts a hand under her chin and smirks, “You know you can always call me ‘daddy’ in other ways.”  
“Do you want to be smacked with that bat?” Circe frowns, “Actually, speaking of… I know I literally just promised no Ouija boards, but… Is there any way that I can actually summon or contact the dead?”

“From what you’ve told us about your dad’s death, he may have fully moved on,” Beetlejuice replies, knowing full well who she intended to contact, “I don’t suggest it, but if you really want to, we can try to reach out to him. Just try to do it when I’m here so any of the meaner demons don’t slip through.”

“Deal.” Circe nods as she shakes his hand. There was a sort of trust between the two, they didn’t lie to each other and didn’t really keep things away. If asked, the other would answer honestly, but they also didn’t pry into other things.

October rolls around and after several Amazon orders and How To’s from the internet that were surprisingly helpful, Circe and BJ manage to get a portal into the Netherworld open with a Ouija board to ‘navigate’ who to talk to. (The Maitlands spent a night on the town.)

An hour passes and save from other random spirits that tried to force their way through, there was no sign of Circe’s father. She wasn’t too torn up about it, though, as Beetlejuice had explained there wasn’t much of a chance to actually contact her father.

“Ready to call it a night, babe?” He asks, looking at the eerily glowing portal. It gave off a weak green glow for most of the night, but right before she answers, it turns purple.

“Who are you?!” Circe asks and the planchette on the board starts moving with wild abandon, “Slow down!”

A… D… O… N… I… S…

“Shit, close it!” Beetlejuice yells out, Circe struggling to move it to GOODBYE, “I can’t! Something’s moving it!” Little by little, the planchette makes its way to HELLO and the portal blares a purple light.

Beetlejuice forces Circe out of the summoning circle and beyond the protective salt circle they had put down just in case.

When the light subsides, a demon male is standing in the center of the circle. Tall, handsome, pale with black, slicked back hair. He’s dressed in a black pinstripe suit with a black Dahlia in it’s lapel, very reminiscent of an old time gangster.

“Beetle-J! It’s been forever!” He winks, gripping the ghoul’s hand. Circe could almost see his rage growing. His normally green hair starting to turn blood red.

“Adonis…” Beetlejuice snarls as he wipes his hand on his coat, “You need to leave. Right, fuckin’ now.”

“Now, now! Is that any way to talk to a friend?” Adonis asks, patting Beetlejuice on his back. He scans the house and his grin widens as his eyes fall on Circe, “Who do we have here~? A new playmate, Beej? You old dog!”

He moves to get closer to Circe, holding a hand out but is stopped both by the salt circle and Beetlejuice gripping his outstretched wrist, “Don’t lay a damn hand on her.”

Circe remains still, sensing an internal power struggle between the two demons. Adonis tsk’s and smirks at Beetlejuice, “My friend! Are you still pissy about Lola? You should be glad I took her off of your hands! She would have worked you to after-death so bad, you’d want to be exorcised! Such expensive tastes with none of the love…”

If looks could kill, Adonis would be dead about seven times over with how Beetlejuice was staring at him, his hair literally ablaze.

Circe places a hand on Beetlejuice’s shoulder and stares dead on at Adonis, echoing the earlier demand, “You need to leave. Right now.”

“Such a cold welcome. Well, I hope to be seeing you soon, miss.” Adonis takes her hand from BJ’s shoulder and presses a kiss against it.

This was the last straw for any shred of patience that Beetlejuice had for the dead mobster. Gripping the man by his hair, he physically tosses him into the portal and Circe shuts it completely.

Beetlejuice stands, glaring at the now empty portal doorway. Circe gently grasps his shoulder, “You okay?”

All at once, he wraps his arms around her, burying his face into her neck. If the Maitlands were here, he’d definitely wouldn’t have done this. Shocked at first, Circe freezes but she wraps her arms around him, patting his back a bit. 

There weren’t any alternative motives for his hug, she knew he felt vulnerable and afraid at the thought that his past might repeat itself. “Thank you…” he mumbles, still not releasing her, “I don’t want to move yet…”

“We don’t have to. But can we move this to the sofa at least?” She offers and he snaps his fingers, the two of them sitting on the sofa, his arm around her and body pressed close.

Circe smiles a bit as she flips on a random channel and the two of them sit in relative silence, resting her head on his shoulder.

When the Maitlands return home an hour or two later, though…

“We’re baack!” Barbara calls out as she and Adam enter the living room…

And are greeted by Beetlejuice leaning over Circe on the sofa, the two in a position that suggests that they had been interrupted mid-makeout. Her arms were around his neck and one of his own slipped under her shirt, her rouge lipstick smeared all over his lips and several marks on his face. Beetlejuice’s other hand had held Circe’s leg up around his waist and he dropped it as soon as the Maitlands caught them. A third hand, sprouted from his right side, had been working at getting her jeans unbuttoned as well...

“Uh….” Adam stammers, his jaw dropped.

“Whoops~ Guess the secret’s out…” Beetlejuice laughs as he begrudgingly removes his hands from Circe’s body, “You do the explaining! Tootles!” He pecks her lips quickly and vanishes.

“What secret?!” She demands, “This was the first time at anything!”

Barbara’s the first to get her voice, “So… HOW?! WHAT?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN!?”

“I’m going to kill him again.” Circe groans before sitting up and explaining the events of the night…

The next few days went without incident, save for Beetlejuice being a bit obnoxious about getting closer to winning the bet. He curbs it, though when Circe threatens that he’d absolutely lose it if he kept that attitude up.

The two seemed to be happier, though and the Maitlands were happy for them. Thanks to the current month, the two could actually go out and about through the town. Granted, no one could see him but if she kept her earbuds in, she could make it look like she was talking to someone over the phone instead of to a dead guy.

For whatever reason, the two of them seemed to make things work.

One night after work, Circe walks past the cemetary to the store to pick something up for dinner. She stops at the gate when she hears a child’s voice call out for help.

“Hello? Little boy?” She calls out, pushing against the gate a bit. She runs in when she hears his cries get louder.  
Running further and further in, she’s lost in the mist, looking for the child.

Someone whispers into her ear, “Circe.”

She whips around to find herself face to face with Adonis. 

A cruel smirk crosses his face as he holds the black dahlia in front of her face and it glows a bit, “Sorry, doll. But I want to be alive again too…”

Her eyes widen before everything goes dark...


	8. Wedding Time!

“I’m worried, she’s never been this late.” Barbara sighs as she looks out the windows. “She’ll be home soon, Barbara. I’m sure she stopped by the store before coming home anyway.”

Though Barbara was worried, it paled in comparison to how worried Beetlejuice looked. His hair was multicolored with worry. Adam places a hand on his shoulder, “She’s fine, Beetlejuice. I’m sure she’s gonna be walking in through that door any moment now.”

As if on cue, the front door opens with a kick from a well polished shoe and carried in bridal style is Circe… In the arms of the demon, Adonis.

Immediately, Beetlejuice’s hair finally picks a color and it lights up into flames and he growls, “What are you doing?” 

“She chose a real man, BJ!” Adonis smirks as Circe giggles and pecks his cheek, further infuriating Beetlejuice, “Sorry, but maybe you’ll be invited to my sweet little peach’s wedding! So why don’t you ghouls all scram?”

He flicks his hand in an attempt to force the three ghosts away but they remain and he looks frustrated, “What’s the big idea?”

“The bet…” Barbara mutters, “W-We have a bet with her and until it happens, you can’t force us away!”

Adonis grumbles, turning his gaze towards her, “What sort of bet?”

“It’s just… we bet that she couldn”t last a year in a haunted house!” Barbara answers and Adam nods emphatically.

He frowns as he pats Circe’s cheek, “Well, one more ghoul couldn’t hurt, yeah? Come on, sweetie, you can cook me dinner~.”

The Maitlands and Beetlejuice all glance at Circe, ready for her to tell him where he can shove his dinner or at the very least, throat punching the asshole.

Instead, she smiles brightly and kisses his cheek, “Of course, darling!! All you have to do is ask!” He chuckles and slaps Circe’s ass a bit as she flounces off into the kitchen.

Something was up and they all knew it, Barbara just grips Beetlejuice’s shoulder and tugs him back a bit, “We’ll leave the lovely couple to themselves and just hold up in the attic for now!”

“Thanks, doll. If ya ever feel bored, feel free to give me a visit,” Adonis winks at her. It took every ounce of her afterlife being to not retch; Barbara simply puts on a bright smile, “I’ll let you know.”

The trio appear in the attic and Beetlejuice pokes his head out of the window and yells a fireball into oblivion.

Adam pats his back and looks at Barbara, “What are we going to do? This absolutely isn’t her.”

Barbara paces along the floor, “I don’t know… I don’t know, I don’t know…”

Beetlejuice sits on the sofa, rubbing his temples, “That fucker enchanted her. He did the same to... someone else I know. The dahlia’s his signature spell…”

“So, we just destroy the dahlia and she’s back to normal!” Adam replies.

BJ shakes his head, “It ain’t that simple. The physical flower’s an anchor… The rest of the spell is somewhere on her body. We’ve gotta destroy both or else it will pretty much break her mind.”

All of the wind is out of their sails and both Barbara and Adam collapse on either side of him, groaning.

After a moment, Barbara speaks, staring at the ceiling, “I’m sorry, Beetlejuice… I really am.”

“Why do you need to be sorry, Babs?” He replies, joining her in her staring contest with the ceiling..

“At first glance, when we saw you both on the sofa… I had my doubts. I thought it was just another ploy for your freedom and I was concerned, but I didn’t say anything to Circe. I didn’t want to meddle and hurt her feelings… But I don’t know, I saw you both cuddling on the couch after that horror movie marathon and you both looked comfortable… Matching, even. And now this happens… I’m so sorry, Beetlejuice.”

He chuckles weakly, “Isn’t this what I deserve? I was happy and in that instant, all felt right with the world. I care about her, by some weird twist of fate, I really thought she cared about me… And then that instant ended…”   
He laughs some more, “This is all some twisted karma shit because of what I’ve done in the past. All of this… Is just a monument to the fuckery I did… I may as well give up the bet…”

Barbara places a hand to his shoulder and looks at him, “We’re not giving up, Beej. We’re going to get Circe back.”

“I really hope so, Babs…”

“Look at it this way, Beej. You’re still here, this means the original bet still stands and she absolutely doesn’t feel anything towards that creep.” Adam points out.

“... A very good point, Adam.” He nods, sighing heavily.

The next couple of weeks were a nightmare to the resident ghosts. Seeing Circe act (and dress!) like a 30’s housewife was torture for all three of them. Thankfully, Barbara managed to figure out where the other seal of the compulsion spell is, having peeking in on Circe when she was dressing up for her ‘sugar daddy.’

They were ready to get some sort of plan in motion until…

“Doll, these last couple weeks have been heaven… Will you do me the favor of being my bride?” Adonis smiles as he gets on one knee, holding a box up.

Circe gasps when she sees the ring and before she responds, it’s as if there’s a switch flipped in her and she groans, “... No… N-No, I won’t marr-!”

She then groans even louder as Adonis clenches his fist and Circe stiffens, the switch flipped back and her blank, ‘Stepford Wives’ smile returns, “Of course, sugar daddy! I want to marry you!”

“Good gal. Why not on Halloween? Make it super special and spooky?”

“That is SUCH a great idea, dear! I’m so excited!”

The other three watch on, Beetlejuice’s rage rising inside of him. Barbara leads him back into the attic where he punches the wall, “SON OF A BITCH!! She’s fighting back and he knows she can shake it. Pisses me off even more.”

“Want to feel a little bit better?” Barbara asks, holding a black and white striped book up, “I know, I know I shouldn’t have pried into her journal, but I think the last few pages you should read.”

He takes the book and opens it to the pages she suggested.

‘Okay, crazy ass thing happened today. Actually made out with the trash can troll but… It wasn’t the worst thing, ever. Since he and I had that heart to… soul (?) on the roof, things have actually been really nice between the two of us. I think Barbara might have noticed something sooner, but she hasn’t said anything. 

We tried to get in contact with dad but no luck. BJ was surprisingly helpful but then his gross old acquaintance showed up and… Just, the look on his face was heartrending. I felt so bad for him. I think in heartbreak the both of us kinda helped leading things to where they ended up last night. I definitely don’t want to marry him… But I’d like to see where things go? Does that sound insane? He’s a literal dead man and I’m… 50 shades of fucked up. I got a dead dad, insane mom and dickhead ex boyfriend and literally all of my old friends believe the crazy couple. THEY AREN'T EVEN HIDING THEIR RELATIONSHIP.   
Ugh. Anyway, moving out here was probably the best thing for me.

Oddly enough my two best friends are dead and a guy who’s transparent enough that he’s at least vocal about what he wants from me.’

From later that night,

‘I can’t believe this ghoul has never seen the Saw movies and he thinks that they’re CLICHE?! Ugh, but he can watch the exorcist 1000 times and laugh every time at the head spinning scene.’

‘FUCK BRIGADOON.’

Beetlejuice chuckles a bit at that passage.

‘Mental note, he has a thing for neck biting, both giving and receiving. Thank goodness it’s scarf season, haha. But also, he’s like a puppy… Craves attention in a cute way. I might not be the warmest person alive at the moment but he’s bringing that laughing, fun side out of me from before.’ 

‘Is it weird that every time I think about him, I get this warm feeling in the pit of my stomach? And now he’s been incorporating my fave Princess Bride quote, ‘As you wish’ into everything. Arrgh, is it possible for someone who’s been dead for decades to be this cute?! I don’t know if we’re still in the ‘honeymoon’ phase of a relationship but then again, we did get off super rough. Who knows? Hopefully that means all of this bad shit won’t mean anything.’

He sighs a bit at that passage, knowing what he knows now. He moves on the the one the night before Adonis made his reappearance,

‘Can’t wait for tomorrow! BJ is planning something super nice after dinner. I think it might have something to do with the stars as he keeps cursing out the clouds. He may have planned it for tonight but the forecast for tomorrow looks all clear! I’m super excited. James (God damn his name) never did anything remotely romantic for me and this a first for me.’

“What… were you planning, anyway?” Barbara interrupts his train of thought.

“...Yeah, it was something involving the stars. We were going to camp out on the roof and I was going to do a bit of a light show out there…” Beetlejuice sighs heavily, “I was… hoping that I’d propose a proposal… Like would she say no if I asked, ya know? At least now I know she’d say no if Adonis asked. Had a whole shebang planned.”

Barbara sits next to him, “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what do you like about Circe? I’m just curious.”

Beetlejuice pauses for a moment before answering, “She calls me on my shit, for one. She doesn’t take it from anyone, either. Circe’s been through a lot of shit and you can tell something inside of her is straight up different. She’s… Something else. She makes me laugh and not out of cruelty.”

She smiles and ruffles his hair, “Don’t worry. We’ll have her back before we know it. And you guys can continue that horrid marathon of serial killers.”

“They’re called slasher films and we were working on Freddy Kreuger,” Beetlejuice huffs as he attempts to fix his hair.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wedding day rolls around and Circe stands at the end of the aisle because a demon with an ego as big as Adonis’ couldn’t stand the big day not being all about him. The wizened and dead priest starts to commence the ceremony up until…

“Does anyone have a reason why these two should not be wed?” He calls out to the room full of the dead. No one moves or says anything until the beloved bride puts her hand up, still holding her bright smile, “I do! I don’t love this creep~!”

“What?!” Adonis growls as he clenches his fist. Circe holds a fist out, her palm facing down and opens her hand, petals of a crushed black dahlia fall to the ground. In one swift movement, she shoves her bouquet of flowers into his dropped jaw, pushing him to the closest wall where the Maitlands opened a portal to the Netherworld.

“Wh-When?!?” Adonis grunts as he tries to push forward. “We broke the spell this morning!” Barbara calls out, helping pull against him. “Came up with a plan to get you the hell out of here!!” Adam shouts, taking the demon’s other arm.

“Need a hand, darling?” Beetlejuice smiles as he holds a baseball bat out to the struggling Circe. “Absolutely, thank you~!” She replies in a sickly sweet voice. 

“Hey batter, hey hey batter, SA-WING!” He calls out, taking a step back as Circe swings the bat, hitting Adonis right in the chest, smacking him right into the portal.

The Maitlands and Beetlejuice clap and Circe bows, “Thank you, thank you! That one was for my lovely fans!”

She laughs as they crowd her and hug her close. After a moment, Adam and Barbara step back, letting the couple have their moment.  
Beetlejuice pulls back, his hands pressed against her face, “You okay?” She presses her own hands against his and nods, “I’m f-”

Her eyes widen as she feels cold fingers wrap around her ankle and yank her down. Circe struggles and kicks as she looks down to see Adonis’ outstretched arm with his eyes blazing, “I’m not going back alone!!!” He wretches his arm back, tugging Circe through the still-open portal.

“CIRCE!!!” The Maitlands shout as they dash forward and the last thing Circe sees is Beetlejuice’s shocked face as the portal closes right after she’s pulled through it.


	9. Hey, dad. Dead Dad

If Adonis thought he had won some bargaining chip against Beetlejuice, he was sorely mistaken… And sore.

“Who summoned you!?” Circe shouts as she punches Adonis square in the face. Using her hideous veil, she had tied his arms behind him and was currently interrogating the demon. It wasn’t an easy struggle with him, especially in a dress, but she managed to come out on top.

“Look, doll, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He laughs then grunts as she socks him in the stomach, shouting, “Talk! You knew who I was in the graveyard but you didn’t know when Beej and I accidentally summoned you. Someone told you everything about me.” 

Circe punctuates every word of her next sentence with a punch, “WHO. TOLD. YOU. ABOUT. ME!?”

He finally caves, “Awright, awright! It was a broad named DeeDee and her boy toy James!! They said if I got a hold of you and possessed you, I’d get life and a chunk of change!!”

“Are they still close to the house?” She asks, holding him up by his collar. He nods, “Yes… They rented out a hotel room in town and since you scared the piss out of James, they went for supernatural help… I was still nearby after you and BabyJuice summoned me and I fed off of their anger…”

“One more thing…” Circe growls as she tightens the veil around his arms, “Was you singing like a bird the reason why you died?”

“Yes…” He sighs as she releases him, dropping him to the ground. Removing the veil, she holds his chin up, “Spread the word. Do. NOT. Fuck with me or anyone in my house or I’ll be even crueller.” 

He nods and scampers off into the dark. Finally taking notice of her surroundings, she stares into the abyss.

“Shit… Circe Mortiz, where did you end up now?” She mutters to herself. She could only see fog and shadows.

Cursing her bad luck, she sighs and crouches down, hugging her knees, “Fucking hell, the Netherworld… I don’t know how to get back home…”

After sitting still for a moment, she calls out into the ether, “Dad, dad, dad?”

A faint, shimmering light appears in front of her and with a shocked look on his face, her father appears before her.

“...Dad!” Circe gasps as she hugs him tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“C-Circita? What are you doing here!? Wh-What are you wearing?” He asks, looking down at her, “Mija, please tell me that you’re not-”

“No, no… I’m not dead…” She laughs a bit as she steps back, wiping her eyes, “It’s… Been crazy the last two years, dad. I’ve got so much to tell you… A lot of bad, but mostly good.”

He chuckles a bit and wraps an arm around her shoulders, “Why don’t you tell me?”

A chair and table appear in front of them with a wave of his arm and the two sit down, “Tell me everything, dear.”

And so Circe recounts everything that had happened since her father’s death, her mother’s rage at Circe getting everything and getting only a single dollar. Then about her mother and James’ attempt at poisoning Circe. 

At that, her father’s already pale face gets even whiter for a moment, “I’m so sorry, mija… but… Why didn’t you leave?”

“James. He convinced me that mom had changed and just wanted to help when I started getting sick…” She answers, sighing heavily with tears welling up in her eyes, “I was an idiot, dad…”

He places a hand over hers, “No, sweetie, you have a very forgiving heart. Don’t ever lose that part of you… Now, I still don’t know how you ended up here.”

She smiles and goes on about getting a phone call from Aunt Delia about watching her house… Then she mentions the Maitlands and to her surprise, her father nods, “I sort of had a hand at that… I was worried about how your mom took to the will and all that. Just wanted you to get out of that state and all of that mess. I’ve met the Maitlands before, nice people.”

“Huh, well…” Circe continues on with meeting Beetlejuice… And about them getting even closer together.

“A demon?! Circe…” He rubs his temple as she continues about Adonis and his plot with her mother, “Ah, so that explains the dress.”

“Hideous, isn’t it?” She laughs, looking down at it, “I hate it and it was so weird… It was like I was trapped inside a robot, seeing myself doing things and wanting to stop and I just couldn’t… Thankfully they got me out of it, but then I ended up here…”

“It’s not all bad. I’m happy to hear you’ve found real friends. Even though they’re dead…” He shrugs as Circe laughs a bit, “They’re more loyal than my lively ones if I’m being honest. Moving to Connecticut was probably the best idea you had.”

He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, “You’re strong, caring and have a clean left hook. I trust in whatever decisions come your way. I’m sorry about your mother, if I knew half of her crazy existed, I would have left with you a long time ago.”

“You did your best, padre.” Circe smiles, “And, I’m glad we got to have this talk. I wanted to try to summon you this month, but no luck.”

“Ah, sorry! Didn’t want to spook you at all, but knowing what I know now, I’ll make more of an effort next year…” He hugs her close, smiling softly before looking up, “Mr. Juice, I presume?”

Circe releases her father and turns around to see Beetlejuice standing next to them, wringing his hands, quiet for once.

Now, to pause the current events for a moment or two, How exactly did Beetlejuice find Circe? Let’s go back a bit to right after the portal to the Netherworld shut behind the former bride.

Beetlejuice falls to his knees, looking down at his bare hands, “Why… WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP LEAVING ME?!?!”

“Get your head out of your ass, Beetlejuice! We have to go get her!” Barbara snaps as Adam runs to get a piece of chalk to draw another door.

“I did this. She got taken because of me…” Beetlejuice mutters, very obviously starting to spiral into a den of self loathing.

Barbara just huffs before storming over to the ghoul and slaps him across his face to get some sense back into him, “Beetlejuice! Get your shit together! You care about her, right?!”

“She’s always going to be in danger because of me!” He sobs, looking up at her, “Face it! Dead or alive! If you don’t got someone who really gets you, then you’re going to feel lonely and worthless and you’ll never meet your goal weight because you eat when you’re saaaaad!!”

“LAWRENCE, QUIT SPIRALING!!” Barbara snaps as she repeatedly shakes him, “She cares about you and you care about her!! Let Circe make that decision on if you two are gonna stick together! She needs you right now to get her out of the Netherworld. You know how to navigate it better than Adam or I!”

Beetlejuice pants a bit as he nods, “You’re right… You’re right. I’ll jump in and look for her… I-I’ll let her decide on what she wants.”

Adam finally returns with the chalk and quickly draws up a door, knocking three times.

“Now go get her!” Barbara commands and practically tosses Beetlejuice into it…

Now, back to our regularly scheduled chaotic couple.

“Beej!” She smiles as she hugs him, “Are you alright? Adam and Barbara?”

“You get thrown into hell and you’re worried about how we, the dead, are?!” He stares at her before glancing up at her father, “And this is?”

“Oh right, Beetlejuice, this is my father. Dad, this is BJ,” Circe replies, turning to look at her father.

“This is the first time we’ve ever hugged,” Beetlejuice lies, stepping away from Circe (who smacks his shoulder) while holding a hand out to her father.

Her father returns the handshake, a smirk on his face, “A pleasure. Tell me, Mr. Juice, do you speak spanish?”

“Not at all!” Beetlejuice replies. Nodding with a smile, her father then looks at Circe, “No me gusta este hombre, pero confiaré en ti. Si te gusta, yo ... lo toleraré.”

She just shrugs and smiles, “Sin ofender, papá. Pero no estás exactamente vivo para hacer esa llamada. But, I do appreciate the thought.”

“You speak spanish?” Beej raises an eyebrow. She waves a hand, “Hmm, suficiente para sobrevivir, no del todo fluido.”

He just looks confused and she answers again in english, “Enough to get by, not exactly fluently.”

“Right, are you ready to get back home?” He asks and she nods. Circe gives her father another big hug, “Bye, dad! I hope I’ll see you next year!”

“I love you, Circita. And you, Mr. Beetlejuice… Take care of her, okay?” He smiles, nodding at the ghoul.

“I’ll do my best…” BJ nods as he hugs Circe close and the two of them vanish in the Netherworld fog.

After several moments, she opens her eyes to find the two of them back in the living room, “How long was I gone for?”

“A couple days. Time works differently in the Netherworld, so you only spent what felt like an hour, but it was 2 days here.”

She collapses against the sofa, groaning, “Do me another huge favor? Get this dress off of me and replace it with my pjs?”

Beetlejuice nods and snaps his fingers, granting her wish before moving next to her on the sofa, wrapping his arms around her tightly, “Ci… We need to talk.”

She sighs heavily, “Yeah, I know… This entire month was… A lot.”

“Yeah, it really put things in perspective…” He replies, running his hands along her back, “About a lot of things. Like you’re always going to be in danger because of me.”

“I don’t think so… No more so than I already was with my mom and ex out there,” She shrugs, “Also, I kicked the shit out of Adonis, so I’m sure that he’s gonna spread the word that we aren’t ones to be fucked with.”

Beetlejuice laughs at the remark and he presses a kiss against her forehead, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

Instead of asking what he was going to ask, he just holds her close, “I’m sorry for all this.”

Circe yawns a bit, “Oh, Adonis wasn’t alone in his scheme. Apparently, the dipshit duo planned all of this with him. They’re still nearby so we can figure out how to scare them off after a well deserved rest.”

“Yeah. For now, let’s rest…” He nods, tugging a blanket over them both. After waiting for Circe to really fall asleep so he can’t quite hear her, he mutters three little words that she didn’t hear… But two other ghosts did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm starting a new job soon, I'd like to wrap up this story before March!


	10. Isn't it Love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SO SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. Life got busy

The sun rises the next morning, same as it ever did. Beetlejuice blinks a bit as the sun’s rays start to poke through the curtains in the living room, with a flick of his wrist the curtains close up, shielding the both of them from the sun.

All through the night, he had done nothing but think. Think about what he /really/ wanted out of this arrangement. Yes, on one hand, he wanted to be alive again; but on the other hand, he’d probably, definitely maybe have to give up all of his powers and his rep in the underworld would be destroyed.

On the third hand… He was happy with Circe and on the few dates they did go on in the town, it would have been nice to have actually been seen with her. Plus, he’d be able to punch the shit out of her ex if needed. It wasn’t just that, though. He had seen how Adam and Barbara really… Completed each other. Even in death, the two were so happy and still obviously in love and they really seem to have their shit together.

Of course, all of this was a moot point if Circe wanted him to kick rocks after he briefly met her father, who didn’t seem to like him. He did have that effect on dads… and moms… and grandparents. He wanted to talk to her about it, but he decided to just let her sleep off the crazy events from yesterday.

At about an hour or two past her normal sleep in time, Circe finally shifts and wakes up, groaning, “Ugh… Morning.”

“Hey,” He smiles as she slowly begins to wake up, “How are you feeling, babe?” She rubs her eyes as she rests on his chest, “As well as I can be for someone who was literally dragged into hell…”

One of his hands gently runs against her back, “Let’s just take it slow for the next couple of days, yeah? A lot’s been going on just in this last month.”

“Yeah, definitely…” Circe groans as she sits up, “I’m starved, want some breakfast? Where are Adam and Barbara?” She asks as she stands up and stretches.

“Eh, they said they’d give us some time alone for today.” He shrugs, floating up into the air and onto his back to float into the kitchen, “I think we needed some after yesterday’s insanity.”

“True, not that I don’t like them, I just need to relax today.” Circe replies. He stares at her in silence as he watches her cook breakfast.

“Beej? You okay?” She asks as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as she looks at him, “You’re oddly quiet this morning and that’s worrisome. Are you plotting something already?”

“Nah, nothing like that…” He replies as he averts his eyes, still lost in thought, “Look, babe, while looking for you in the Netherworld, I did a lot of thinking. Like, more thought than was put into the whole marrying Lydia thing.”

She laughs as she pours pancake batter onto the skillet, “I would hope that waking up and brushing your teeth requires more thought than that.”

“Yeah, yeah, it does.” He laughs, still staring at a random spot in the kitchen, “Anyway, right before I jumped in to save your sweet ass, I ever so gallantly was freaking out and went into a bit of a downward spiral in front of the Maitlands. And while I was doing that, Barbara literally shook some sense into me.”

“Oh? And what were you, the coolest ghoul this side of the Netherworld, panicking about?” She asks, turning to face him. He stands on his feet and slides his arms around her waist as hers move around his neck, his green eyes meet her dark ones, “I was freaking out completely that…”   
He hesitates for a moment before finally blurting out, “Okay, I was freaking out and yelling that you’d always be in danger because of me and the whole Adonis thing really terrified me. And I wanted to ask you if you really wanted to stick around me, even with all the enemies I’ve made and potential danger you’d be in if I did stick around.”

Circe smiles a bit as her hands slide to his cheeks, “You’re adorable, Lawrence. And no, I don’t want you to leave.”

He grins, squeezing her hips a bit (Also flicking his fingers to flip the pancakes so they don’t end up burned!) before growling playfully, “You know how that riles me up when you call me by my first name~!”

Beetlejuice leans forward, pressing his lips against her neck, causing Circe to laugh and try to pull away, “H-Hey, let’s get breakfast going before we start all of that! I need the energy after the insanity of yesterday!”

Reluctantly, he pulls away and allows her to finish making their breakfast, though not before giving her rear a playful squeeze before floating to the table. (Sure, he didn’t need to eat but she still did. He really did it to make her more comfortable. Dating a dead man was already difficult, she didn’t need the awkwardness of being the only one to eat.)

After getting their breakfast together, she joins him at the table and the both of them eat in mostly silence. A slight tension filling the void between them… 

Circe was aware that after she had swallowed the last bite of bacon on her plate, he’d waste no time in tackling her and having his way with her. Not that she was against that idea at all… But the two of them had much bigger fish to fry at the moment.  
As soon as she finishes her meal, she holds her hands up, causing the wild Beetlejuice to pause his pounce in midair, “Hold on!!”

He looks confused as his vivid pink hair vanishes, “What? Babe, I’m harder than a diamond in a snow storm, I thought I was being patient!!”

Circe snorts at his remark and sighs, “Alright, well get ready for the boner killing sentence: We gotta work out a plan to get rid of my mom and ex.”

There’s a slight pause before he answers:  
“Honestly, that only gets me harder.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“I don’t know what that means, you’re hot when you get all smart, love of my afterlife~!”

There’s another very pregnant pause as she stares up at him at his outspoken admiration.

“... I’m your what now?”

He pauses, his eyes wide at the realization of what he just admitted. The two of them stare at each other for a moment and Circe opens her mouth to speak but then the ghoul takes off, dashing out of the room.

“Get back here!” She shouts as she jumps up and bounds after him. As soon as she comes in contact with him, he vanishes and she lands on the ground, huffing softly, “Cabrón, hijo de perra!”

Circe groans as she stands up and dusts herself off, “Maitlands, Maitlands, Maitlands!” The couple would appear in the living room, Barbara painting a portrait of Adam… Who was sprawled out on a long sofa, bare naked with a sheet barely covering his waist.

She slaps a hand over her eyes and clears her throat loudly. Barbara and Adam flinch and after a few awkward moments of pulling clothes on…

“So, we are never talking about that again, but before we never talk about that again; Barbara, Mazel Tov.” Circe laughs a bit as she winks at the two and the Maitlands turn a bright red, “Y-You called us?”

“Y-Yeah, well… BJ… said that I’m the love of his afterlife??” She looks up at them, her eyes wide and a shocked look on her face. Barb gasps and clasps her hands together, “He said it while you were awake?!”

Circe points at her, “WHAT? AND DON’T VANISH ON ME TO GET OUT OF THE CONVERSATION.”

Barbara covers her mouth with her hands and sighs, “Fine! He whispered to you that he loved you last night after you came back from the Netherworld. You didn’t hear him, did you?”

The human shakes her head and sighs, “No, or else I wouldn’t be reacting like this. Anyway, he blurted that out and vanished. I know he’s still in the house because we all know that he’s not in the Netherworld.”

“Look, he’s… Him. So he’s probably hiding out of a fear of rejection.” Barbara replies and Circe just groans as she throws her hands in the air, “FINE! Can you both talk to him? I’m gonna go food shopping…”

The Maitlands nod as she grabs her bag and storms out of the house, swearing in Spanish.

“... Okay, Beetlejuice, she’s gone.” Adam calls out and the demon appears in the kitchen.

After an awkward pause where they all avoid eye contact, Beetlejuice finally speaks after coughing awkwardly, “.... So… Ya’ll heard that last night?”

“Yuuup.” Adam grins as he claps a hand onto BJ’s shoulder, “You love her.”

“Shut uuuupppppp!!!!” The demon groans as his hair turns a bright pink. He’s certainly embarrassed as he covers his face with his hands, “It just slipped out and I didn’t expect it to!”

“We’re talking about last night! We heard you whisper it to her while she was asleep! This is so exciting!” Barbara smiles, hugging Beetlejuice’s arm.

“Ugh… I know she’s really pissed at me for bailing, right?” He wretches his arm away from her, “I just… I was afraid that she’d react badly because of the whole bet…”

Barb grins as she looks up at him, “Remember when I said that a huge gesture would have hurt your cause? Well, this time it’s gonna help.”

He pauses for a moment before looking at her, “... What did you have in mind?”


	11. Say My Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay! Life got busy...

After taking a nice and calming walk and some shopping done throughout town… Circe was still in a pissy mood. Alas, she was done shopping for groceries for the next two weeks, so unfortunately, she had to go back home.

It was nightfall by the time she returned home, Circe opens the door to a pitch black and unnaturally silent house. “Hello?” She calls out to pure silence, “I’ll admit, this is a bit spoo-!”

She’s cut off by being forced forward and pushed onto a sofa, “What’s going-?” A spotlight appears out of nowhere and the Maitlands appear; Adam with drums and Barbara holding a guitar.

“... Okay, nice to see those lessons you both took aren’t going to waste.” Circe laughs a bit as they strum a bit to start a song.

Beetlejuice appears with a microphone in hand and he starts singing; 

“ _ Remember the day we were giving up; When you told me I didn't give you enough? And all of your friends were saying I'd be leaving you…. She's lying in bed with my t-shirt on; Just thinking how I went about it wrong! This isn't the stain of a red wine, I'm bleeding love!!” _

Circe’s eyes widen as he sings, recognizing the song that he had previously called it a stupid earworm… He wasn’t quite a fan of the band and neither was she, (but the song was catchy!) 

Beetlejuice sinks to one knee in front of her and takes her hand in his as the microphone floats in front of him,

_ “Please believe me, don't you see the things you mean to me? Oh I love you, I love you! I love, I love, I love Circe!” _

She doesn’t want him to stop as he continues:

_ “I live for you, I long for you, Circe! I've been idolizing the light in your eyes, Circe! I live for you, I long for you, Cirrceee! Don't let me go!! Don't let me gooo~!” _

Circe laughs as she hops out of the chair and hugs him, “Okay, okay! Don’t debase yourself further! I forgive you and I love you too!”

His face and hair turn a bright pink at her proclamation and he wraps his arms around her, “Oh, thank Satan, I don’t have to keep singing.”

She laughs as she pulls back a bit, “I dunno, I thought that was pretty cute, might have you do that more often when you piss me off.” He winces, “Baby, that’s cruel.”

Circe rolls her eyes with a shake of her head before pulling him close to press a deep kiss against his lips. At this, Beetlejuice’s hair bursts into flames as he tugs her closer, snapping his fingers and the two of them appear on her bed in her room, the door slamming shut loudly.

“... Well, that worked.” Adam remarks as Barbara turns up the stereo downstairs so they don’t hear the other two’s escapades. 

Meanwhile, Beetlejuice pins her to the bed while he bites and sucks at Circe’s neck, fully intending on leaving marks behind while his hands work at tugging her shirt off. Circe works his tie and coat off but stops due to her hands being held and bound together over her head with an invisible force.

“Yer  _ mine,  _ dollface.” He murmurs as he presses more kisses and bites along her collarbone.

Circe closes her eyes and groans out, “Beetlejuice…” He growls a bit as he just rips her t-shirt down the middle and she repeats his name once more, “Beetlejuice…” His eyes glow a lime green as he looks up at her, “Once more, babes… One more time… I’ll marry ya, worship ya… Whatever you want, just give me one more…”

He digs his teeth into her neck once more and she moans out for the third time, “Beetlejuice!!”

The whole house shakes and he takes on his corporeal form, his eyes glowing a bright green as he grips her thighs, “You’re  _ mine…  _ And I’m yours.”

She blinks a bit and smirks, “Was that a proposal? I did bring you back to life… Or is this another trick?”

He stops and sits back, allowing her hands to fall, “Not at all. We don’t have to actually get married… Look, I’m sorry for how I reacted earlier, I’m not used to being wanted… Most likely because my mom was a demon. Like a literal demon who only paid attention to me to yell at me. Having someone give a shit about me and having me give a shit about someone is… Not natural for me.”

Circe presses a hand against his face, “Tell you what, just so we can keep with this mood because I can feel your ‘excitement’ pressing against my thigh, when you decide to officially ask me to marry you, I won’t say no.”

His eyes widen a bit and she winks at him, “But let’s save that for after you properly rock this bed~?”

A devilish smirk forms on his lips as he looks down at her, sliding his arms around her while resting his forehead against hers, “You’re too good to me, baby. I love you, Circe.” She presses a soft kiss to his lips and smiles, “I love you too…  _ Lawrence.” _

He growls with a grin on his face before practically pouncing on Circe, attacking her face with several kisses and slides his hands to her pants to tug them off. 

“Hey! You’re still heavily over-dressed~!” She exclaims and he kisses down her neck and chest. He moves his way down her body and spreads her legs, “Don’t worry, sweetie, let me take care of you… Then we can plot to take care of your mom and shitty ex…” Beetlejuice repeatedly presses soft kisses against the inside of her thighs, “... And then we can spend the rest of the time figuring out how to make this work…”

Circe nods with a soft smile before he starts to devour her like a starved man…

Even though the music was blasting downstairs, the Maitlands could still hear  _ everything.  _ And here they thought he was loud before… Being properly summoned again seemed to give the ghoul a massive burst of energy.


End file.
